George Hicks (broadcast journalist)


George Hicks was an American broadcast journalist. He was a noted war correspondent, first with NBC and then with the Blue Network.

Early years

Hicks was born in Tacoma, Washington, and graduated from George Washington University after attending several other colleges.

Career

On December 27, 1934, NBC's Hicks interviewed Charles E. Apgar, a New Jersey radio amateur who made some of the first recordings of radio broadcasts during 1913–1915, including recordings of German spy messages during World War I.
While based in London during World War II, Hicks recorded an on-the-scene report of the Normandy landings from the USS Ancon. It was broadcast on the night of June 6, 1944 over the American networks via a pool feed. During the broadcast there were sounds of heavy bombardment. His voice was described as "modest" and "incapable of false drama" and was considered particularly well suited for covering the landings. The New York World-Telegram called his broadcast "The greatest recording yet to come out of the war."

Personal life

George Hicks was born in 1905. He died at the age of 59 and is buried in Flushing Cemetery, New York.
His only child, Robert Ivan Hicks, born in 1933 still lives in New York.

Legacy

He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6314 Hollywood Boulevard.